Rangers fans given cheer on the park as club lurches into crisis off it

THIS was a collision between two clubs both hurtling towards history, although each in their own very different ways.

THIS was a collision between two clubs both hurtling towards history, although each in their own very different ways.

One of them may be just weeks away from making a piece of it. In a few hours from now the other could be becoming a piece of it.

And yet, although there is a danger the behind-the-scenes crisis engulfing Rangers could yet prove to be terminal, Saturday at Tynecastle offered yet more proof there is more life than there ought to be about the group who provide this stricken company with its public face.

And for that at least, Ally McCoist and his players deserve enormous credit.

They may not know if they have a future at Ibrox. Today, in fact, they will discover if there is a future at all for their football club in its current form.

But McCoist and his men continue to dig deep for an increasingly hopeless cause even though, over these past few weeks, they’ve been forced to do so for considerably less in return than they had signed up for.

Despite all the dishonour which stains their club and the shame that has been foisted upon it by the disgraceful actions of its absconded owner, the manager and his players continue to cling to their own sense of professional pride.

And the contribution some of them have made since the Whyte hit the fan, has been bordering on heroism.

The time for Hearts to be heroes will come around again soon. Paulo Sergio and his players are Hampden bound and if they can end the season by winning the biggest Edinburgh derby of all time then their names will forever be carved into the timber of Tynecastle.

Perhaps it was precisely this tantalising prospect that meant they lost some of their focus at the weekend when Craig Beattie and his cohorts pulled their shirts back on for the first time since his bare-torsoed tribute to Benny Hill at Hampden, which so vividly marked the clinching of their place in that Scottish Cup Final showdown.

Or maybe the sheer ferocity of the celebrations which followed simply took a heavy toll at the end of a long, long week.

Whatever the reason, these Hearts players forgot how to function for about an hour of this latest contest and by the time they had come back to their senses they found that victory was beyond them.

Once again, it was McCoist’s players who summoned up something from deep within to grab total control of proceedings with the likes of Lee McCulloch and Steven Whittaker leading by example.

McCulloch in particular appears to be strangely thriving on the chaos and carnage which surrounds him.

With each passing week his influence on this team becomes more apparent.

It is almost as if he has taken this whole thing personally because the manner of his performances since being installed as an emergency striker have screamed of defiance.

This was the second time since the administrators moved in that McCulloch fond himself up against Andy Webster and Marius Zaliukas.

And, for the second time, he battered the pair of them into submission.

McCulloch did not score this time – much of that was down to the agility and reflexes of Hearts keeper Jamie MacDonald – but the way he went about his business inspired all those around him, while softening up the centre of the home side’s defence.

MacDonald denied McCulloch for the first time in 10 minutes when he threw out a hand to stop the striker’s snap shot after some superb interplay between Rhys McCabe, Whittaker and Andy Little.

Young McCabe, it must be said, was impressing once again in the centre of McCoist’s midfield.

There is a coolness and composure about his work which is reminiscent of a young Derek Ferguson and, even if he faded a little after the break, it appears that ravaged Rangers have uncovered a bit of a gem during these, their darkest hours.

He almost set up a second goal with a terrific dead-ball delivery which had the Hearts defence folding but Kyle Bartley blasted a shot straight at McCulloch when the defender should have been picking his spot.

Mo Edu then won a free-kick in 28 minutes when he came together with a frazzled looking Webster.

And as a result, the visitors got themselves in front courtesy of a stunning, dipping effort from the left boot of Sone Aluko.

McCulloch was then denied for a second time when MacDonald pulled off a terrific stop low at his right-hand post following a forward surge led by Edu and Whittaker, who was relishing a more forward role in the centre of a five-man midfield.

Of the home side, only Ian Black was standing up to this Rangers domination and attempting to do anything about it.

But Black was being swamped in the centre of the pitch and with his defence wobbling behind him it was only a matter of time until further damage was inflicted.

A second goal came in 35 minutes after some shambolic moments involving Zaliukas and keeper MacDonald.

First the Lithuanian launched a woeful sliced clearance high into the Edinburgh sky, forcing MacDonald into a panicky punch which hardly cleared his own box.

Lee Wallace then fired it back into the danger area and, when Zaliukas failed to deal with it for a second time, Little pounced to lift a lob over MacDonald and put Rangers in complete control.

It was only then that Hearts began to shake themselves back to life with talisman Beattie finally starting to threaten the Rangers defence.

The former Celtic striker fired narrowly wide at the beginning of the second half after a sumptuous turn 25 yards from goal as Sergio’s side gradually started to find its feet.

The manager assisted in this revival by making an aggressive double change in 67 minutes, replacing defensive midfield man Darren Barr with striker Gary Glen and one winger, Andy Driver, with another in the shape of David Templeton.

The slippery Templeton made an almost immediate impact, winning a penalty for his side in 75 minutes after tricking Aluko into a clumsy challenge.

Up stepped Beattie, seeking to repeat his big moment from a week earlier, but this time he cannoned his effort off Allan McGregor’s bar.

Had he scored then Hearts may well have completed their comeback.

But with this miss, Rangers’ resolve was strengthened still further and, two minutes from time, Whittaker and Wallace combined to set up Little for a tap-in to complete the scoring.

And so McCoist’s men claimed another victory against all the odds. But events outwith their control today may yet render it the most hollow of wins.